EVENT PREVIEW: NYC Craft Beer Festival – Feb. 28 – Mar. 1 [NYC]

Listen, if you didn’t know it was Beer Week in NYC: it’s okay. What with NYFW getting everyone all riled up, that incredibly distracting sunshine we had this past weekend, and dodging all the internets for fear of House Of Cards spoilers, no one would blame you for waking up this morning not knowing this important piece of information. Admittedly, you’ve got some catching up to do, but there’s no reason to panic because one of the best events is actually yet to come: The NYC Craft Beer Festival – this weekend, two nights only, you + 150 different craft beers together at last and ready to party.

photo credit: Hand Crafted Tasting Co.

Hosted by The Hand Crafted Tasting Company and being held in the Lexington Avenue Armory, this epic tasting event goes down on Friday and Saturday evening and showcases the spring releases from 75 American craft breweries, who have all been invited to hit us with 2 of their best seasonal and/or limited edition brews. General admission gives you access to them all, but if you’re feeling fine and fancy you can get yourself a Connoisseur Ticket, which gives you the chance to bypass the entrance line and access to the Connoisseurs lounge, where you can taste 12 – 15 rare beers not found on the Grand Tasting Floor.

Either way, you’re going to be tasting some kickass seasonal and limited creations from a very diverse set of brewers. You’re definitely going to recognize some names: Victory, Lagunitas, Ommegang, Sixpoint, Rogue – yep, gang’s all here; but NYCCBF also has some up and-comers looking to make a big splash. You can check out the list right here – giddiness guaranteed to follow shortly.

Food will also be available – the organizers have chosen purveyors based on recommended beer-food pairings, and the selection is basically everything you want when you drink beer – ie. pork and cheese.

Tickets are still available but shake a leg: General Admission passes are sold out for Saturday’s two sessions, but VIP and connoisseur tickets are still available. Be sure to head to head to the website ASAP to make sure you don’t miss out!